The Lost Coin

Introduction

This parable in the Gospel of Luke is a part of a successive three parable answer formulated by Jesus to directly address a specific group of Pharisees and scribes who were complaining about Jesus having a sit down meal with them. The self righteous and pious religious leaders of that time were so blinded by the log in their own eye they couldn’t see to help those with a speck in the eye. As we study this passage here are few questions to keep in mind: Who is Jesus speaking to? Who is the coin? Who are the other coins?

Luke 15:8–10 (CSB)

8 “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ 10 I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.

Luke 15:8–10 (CSB)

8 “Or what woman who has ten silver coins, if she loses one coin, does not light a lamp, sweep the house, and search carefully until she finds it? 9 When she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together, saying, ‘Rejoice with me, because I have found the silver coin I lost!’ 10 I tell you, in the same way, there is joy in the presence of God’s angels over one sinner who repents.”

The Owner

Who is the owner?

The women here although feminine in this parable still represents God. This is not to say that God is female or male for that matter but merely a person being used to show us their is clearly an owner and clearly an owned. The women, also the owner, owns all the coins not just the one. She is found to not only be in possession of but also a desire to keep and protect that which is hers.

A side note here that in this day an time there was most likely very little light in the homes of this era. Lighting a lamp to gain clarity would be something of a must. Without a light in the darkness the women would be blind. We a very much in the world blind and wondering. Christ coming into the world and shining his light in a world full of darkness is the most likely reason we are reading that the women “touched” or turned on a lamp.

The women also cleans and tidies the house. This is a direct representation of how God, in the same manner, sends Christ to come full-fill the law thus cleaning up the mess man has made. Finally, just as the women is searching for that which is hers, it is Jesus that is searching for the lost in this world.

She, the women here, the coins belong to her.

She seeks out the coin not the other way around.

She searches carefully, joyfully, and until she finds the coin.

The motivation of the woman to find the coin was because of the preciousness of the coin to herself. The suffering from the loss of the coin was felt by the woman, not by the coin.

John G. Butler

We belong to God.

Jesus seeks us out.

God is carefully and joyfully seeking out that which is his.

The Coin

Who is/are the Coin(s)?

At first many of us associate ourselves with the one lost sheep of the prior parable or the coin in this parable. While this is certainly the main theme make no mistake the Pharisees would be seeing them selves as the other ninety-nine or the one. This is most likely why Jesus continued with yet another parable talking about the one lost coin and eventually the Prodigal Son. The reality is that many of us still feel like we are the lost sheep or here the lost coin. It is worth noting that there are multiple coins here and we could be any one of them and at anytime find ourselves in the position of any of them. Let me break this down for you. In the parable of the lost sheep there are ninety-nine other sheep. In the lost coin there are nine other coins. We see here that Jesus is reducing the number of “other” coins to help us hone in, focus, focus on not only on the one but on the “others” as well. To drive this point home, in the next parable Jesus will lead us into making a choice about who we are, which son, we associate with, but we are not yet to that parable so let’s finish up here with the coins first.

One coin is lost.

There are other coins.

The one coin is found bringing joy.

The particular sheep, and the particular coin, weren’t themselves special.

N. T. Wright

We are all sinners!

Not everyone has a relationship with Christ.

Repentant, sinners bring joy to God.

The Joy

Where does joy come from?

Who shares in this joy?

Finally the joy. Once the coin or the sheep is found there is joy. The Joy of whom you might ask. The joy belongs to the owner and for us this is the joy of the Lord in the world. There are a few noteworthy things here. The joy flows from God. That is to say that the joy belongs to God and God alone. The joy from the Lord is also in the presence of the Angels who by extension take a part in the joy by simply being in God’s presence. It is the joy of the owner that is celebrated by the friends of the owner of the coin. Also in all three parable even in the next one we see that the joy is over one, one sinner, over one repentant sinner. The transformation from sinner to holy through God’s gracious mercy and free gift on Jesus is worth celebrating and throwing a party for all to experience God’s Joy.

Joy is in the presence of the Angels - The joy is God’s and God’s Alone.

The Great Shepherd, God almighty is so joyful that it overflows onto everyone and everything.

Notice the joy is because of just one repentant sinner.

Joy ceases to be joy when it ceases to be ‘in the Lord’.

J. Alec Motyer

Conclusion

Faithlife Study Bible Chapter 15

Jesus’ second parable, about a lost coin, reiterates the point of the first: When the lost becomes found, heaven throws a party. Again, Jesus’ purpose is to help the religious leaders understand why He associates with tax collectors and sinners (in response to their complaint in v. 2). This parable is unique to Luke.

So busy were the Pharisees and scribes complaining about the fact that Jesus was eating, drinking, and associating with known sinners that they missed the very fact that they themselves were lost coins being soft after. Jesus, in the eyes of the religious leaders at that time, is portraying an association with these sinners. A sort of “wrong” association. In the Pharisees eyes, Jesus would appear to be accepting and approving of the sinners behaviour but rejecting of the religious leaders self-righteous behaviour.

Jesus uses a coin, notably worth about a day’s wage for the average worker, to represent the lost. You see the ninety-nine are no different than the one, the nine are no different than the one, none of us are without blame, and the bringing back to God of one lost sole through the blood of Jesus is enough to fill all heaven and earth with God’s Joy.

The Great Shepard is come

“to seek and to save that which was lost”. - Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset, and David Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible, vol. 2 (Oak Harbor, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 1997), 115.